EP36's FIFA-Fo-Fum World Cup Wonderland

[EaglesPhan36]

Play #17: Denmark-Cameroon OVER 2 [ -114]
There will be a sentiment that Denmark's defense will lead this match to be low scoring and while their defense will be a tough nut to crack, I think the fact that they must be offensive in this match gives the over some good juice for me. It's another situation where you shouldn't put too much stock in the one match each team played. Denmark knew their best shot to grab a point from The Netherlands was going to be to defend first and foremost. Today though, both teams are really in need of the full three points to get back into this group with The Netherlands in the driver's seat with 6 points and Japan with 3. That being said, look for the Danes to attack more today against a Cameroon defense that can be had. Striker Niklas Bendtner is trying to play through a groin issue and appears ready again today - he must be a factor. Cameroon meanwhile should witness plenty of change to its lineup after a disappointing match and result with Japan. Cameroon did have chances though and should have more today against the rugged Danes. Look for Cameroon to put Samuel Eto'o in a better position to be a major factor today. I think both teams will get on the scoresheet here and with the pressure on for both to get the full three points, we could get that third goal to break the push on a total of two.

[EaglesPhan36]

Record: 9W-3L-2P [+5.885]

[aunty jack]

here are the shiny points for your good advice on the socceroos game!

that's pretty much the end of the line for 'hand-ball harry' and co. i think we need to beat serbia and have ghana upset germany to have a hope in hell now.

the chances of that happening are about as remote as having a vuvuzela in a philharmonic orchestra...

[EaglesPhan36]

Play #18: Brazil-Ivory Coast OVER 2 [-143]
Didier Drogba looks set to feature again for Ivory Coast and that spells good news for the over in this match. Brazil can take a stranglehold on advancement with a win here, while Ivory Coast will look to keep themselves on track for the same. That could be had with as simple as a draw against Brazil, so don't be surprised to see The Elephants come out and defend again like they did vs. Portugal. Drogba's probable return to the starting 11 surely will boost the African side that had several chances to break the scoreless deadlock with Portugal last match day. The Brazilians meanwhile will look to dominate the possession again and need more from Robinho & Kaka up front. Robinho looked plenty able in the opener and his creativity will boost the offense again ... but it could be a solid performance from Kaka that decides whether this will be three or one point for Brazil. I look for the Ivory Coast to use some counter attacking along with their defensive mindset here and I believe that plus Brazil's overall ability will lead to multiple goals in this one.

[ironchef69]

Good call on denmark over, keep it hot eagles

[EaglesPhan36]

Record: 10W-3L-2P [+6.885]

Brazil looks so good today. Easy fo sheezy on the over today.

[psulions]

Nice pick. Great run you have going here.

[DeluxeLiner]

Hottest world cup capper at sbr right now

[vinnysantos]

Following you all the way EP

[EaglesPhan36]

Play #19: Portugal-North Korea Total Corner Kicks OVER 9.5 [-116]
In a match in which they had very little creativity and Ivory Coast defended a ton, there were ten corners. In a match where North Korea attempted to defend their butts off against Brazil, there were 10 corners. Portugal has the opportunity to all but wrap-up a place in the knockout stages with a win and there coach has promised they will look to attack. That is a good part of the recipe potentially to get more corners, stay aggressive from the opening kickoff. North Korea is likely to sit back as they did against Brazil and park the bus in front of their goal as they try to stave off the Portugese and perhaps earn a point that would see Portugal, Ivory Coast & North Korea all tied with a single point heading into the final match day. I think when teams sit back and defend, that can lead to the possibility of more corner kicks so long as the opposition is willing to work the wings. Portugal has drawn a lot of flack for their offense and they will be under the gun to produce. Corners again do involve plenty of dumb luck, but this is a good formula at least to begin with for the possibility of going over 9.5. Set pieces could also give Portugal perhaps a better chance at getting on the scoresheet as well. Deco will be out in the midfield for Portugal due to injury, but his coach had already expressed his displeasure with Deco's performance anyhow and he was not a cinch to start regardless today. Losing a key playmaker won't help, but Portugal still have options and sometimes we tend to over react to omissions from the starting 11. Good luck with your selections today.

[Mr Windy City]

GL eaglesphan!

[samitarian]

Play #19: Portugal-North Korea Total Corner Kicks OVER 9.5 [-116]
In a match in which they had very little creativity and Ivory Coast defended a ton, there were ten corners. In a match where North Korea attempted to defend their butts off against Brazil, there were 10 corners. Portugal has the opportunity to all but wrap-up a place in the knockout stages with a win and there coach has promised they will look to attack. That is a good part of the recipe potentially to get more corners, stay aggressive from the opening kickoff. North Korea is likely to sit back as they did against Brazil and park the bus in front of their goal as they try to stave off the Portugese and perhaps earn a point that would see Portugal, Ivory Coast & North Korea all tied with a single point heading into the final match day. I think when teams sit back and defend, that can lead to the possibility of more corner kicks so long as the opposition is willing to work the wings. Portugal has drawn a lot of flack for their offense and they will be under the gun to produce. Corners again do involve plenty of dumb luck, but this is a good formula at least to begin with for the possibility of going over 9.5. Set pieces could also give Portugal perhaps a better chance at getting on the scoresheet as well. Deco will be out in the midfield for Portugal due to injury, but his coach had already expressed his displeasure with Deco's performance anyhow and he was not a cinch to start regardless today. Losing a key playmaker won't help, but Portugal still have options and sometimes we tend to over react to omissions from the starting 11. Good luck with your selections today.

will follow in, with 2 units.
but my book has the line at 10, at +105. so gonna risk that. refund if there's exactly 10.

[EaglesPhan36]

Record: 10W-4L-2P [+5.725]

Well there ya go, the corners just dried up in the 2nd half. Oh well, never know quite how these are gonna turn out in the end. I feel alright though because I had been leaning toward North Korea on the handicap and decided against that. Portugal finally found their goals today.

[EaglesPhan36]

Play #20: Spain Total Goals OVER 2.5 [-114]

Spain will be looking to resurrect their World Cup campaign today against Honduras. The Hondurans did well enough to hold Chile to a single goal, but that seemed to be more of Chile missing their opportunities to finish as they had plenty. Spain will be out to answer their critics today and anything but an absolute demolition of Honduras should be considered a failure. Honduras may again be without their best striker in David Suazo, so they are expected to employ the defend, defend, defend tactic. The only problem there is that Honduras' defense is not Switzerland's. I'm looking for the Spaniards to again dominate the possession, but come out looking to strike quickly and put any questions about their viability as a contender to rest today. Fernando Torres looks likely to get a start today, which can only help. Iniesta is likely out due to injury for Spain in the midfield. The reason I went with Spain's goal total as well is that I like the OVER in this one, but I think Spain will be doing all the work toward that. You can take the over for the match at 2.5 at higher chalk of -161 or at a total of 3 for +101, but that could be asking for a push. Instead, I go with the team total at lower chalk and hope the Spaniards are pissed and decide to really lay it on Honduras. If not, then they are a supreme flop in South Africa.

[EaglesPhan36]

I guess this is the law of averages catching up with me. How Spain doesn't have 6 goals in this match is unbelievable.

[EaglesPhan36]

Record: 10W-5L-2P [+4.585]

I think you followers brought me bad luck today. Cannot believe Spain only netted two goals off of all those chances, including a damn penalty kick from the best player on the pitch today. Sheesh.

[VegasPlayer]

Don't know squat about intl soccer, but would you happen to know how the tournament and leagues police themselves in regards to gambling?

[EaglesPhan36]

Play #21: Nigeria-South Korea OVER 2 [-125]
Simple play here to me. Nigeria have absolutely nothing to lose as they need to win and get some help from goal differential in an Argentina win over Greece. With that match taking place at the same time as this one, they will simply need to take care of job #1 in getting a win. The South Koreans know they can advance most likely with just a draw here, but that would be contingent on Greece losing and not getting a draw vs. Argentina. So, in reality the Koreans also would like to get the three points here. South Korean should shift back to a 4-4-2 format that served them well in their 2-0 win over Greece. The South Koreans are anchored by Manchester United product Park Ji-Sung who should have better luck with Nigeria than he did against Argentina. The Nigerians simply will be looking for offense from anyone. They looked to be in good shape against Greece, scoring early only to have a red card really crush their hopes in what wound up a 2-1 loss. The Nigerians need some creativity offensively in the midfield and some bullish behavior up front from their finishers to have a chance. Hopefully Coach Lars Lagerback throws caution to the wind in an effort to pull off an improbable win and advance for Nigeria. I think both teams will have opportunities to score and with both wanting to win, expect perhaps that we will see multiple goals.

[sportfan]

Play #21: Nigeria-South Korea OVER 2 [-125]
Simple play here to me. Nigeria have absolutely nothing to lose as they need to win and get some help from goal differential in an Argentina win over Greece. With that match taking place at the same time as this one, they will simply need to take care of job #1 in getting a win. The South Koreans know they can advance most likely with just a draw here, but that would be contingent on Greece losing and not getting a draw vs. Argentina. So, in reality the Koreans also would like to get the three points here. South Korean should shift back to a 4-4-2 format that served them well in their 2-0 win over Greece. The South Koreans are anchored by Manchester United product Park Ji-Sung who should have better luck with Nigeria than he did against Argentina. The Nigerians simply will be looking for offense from anyone. They looked to be in good shape against Greece, scoring early only to have a red card really crush their hopes in what wound up a 2-1 loss. The Nigerians need some creativity offensively in the midfield and some bullish behavior up front from their finishers to have a chance. Hopefully Coach Lars Lagerback throws caution to the wind in an effort to pull off an improbable win and advance for Nigeria. I think both teams will have opportunities to score and with both wanting to win, expect perhaps that we will see multiple goals.

Best of luck Eagle, liking the over too but didnt pull the trigger

[filter15]

I ant stop staring at the most interesting man in the world
rrr

[cmh329]

good luck. hopefully this nice run continues.

[todd24kb]

i'm on it with you, EP.

[vinnysantos]

Gl ep

[oxellos]

I'll trust on Over 2 goals on Korea vs Nigeria. I think Korea is gonna win Nigeria by 2-1. Definitely Over here.

[EaglesPhan36]

Play #22: France-South Africa OVER 2 [-160]
This is somewhat of a gut play obviously than anything statistical as neither side has shown a scoring prowess in South Africa. France obviously has all the turmoil surrounding their side, but an interesting read for me this morning had the France sports minister reportedly reduce the French squad to tears with a "win one for the Gipper" type of speech telling the French players how much they have dishonored their country and fans, etc. The third match day at the World Cup in the group stages tends to favor goals for the last few cups as some teams are mathematically clinging to life like these two and just go for broke. Don't forget we have a substitute goal keeper for South Africa as well due to their starter being suspended. Look for France to take advantage and South Africa will try their best to put one in for their home crowd ... or it's 0-0 and I look like a dolt.

[EaglesPhan36]

Son of a bitch! I forgot to play the red card prop in this one. Damn duh duh damn damn damn.

[EaglesPhan36]

Record: 11W-5L-2P [+5.585]

Figures Malouda scores the match after I had him on a prop to score. Anywho, that's a cashola on the over. Thanks Frenchies, now go HOME!

[blowseq]

Thanks Frenchies, now go HOME!

[EaglesPhan36]

Play #1: Uruguay to Advance from Group A [+110] (TWO UNITS)
If Uruguay takes care of business by earning results in all three group matches, i think they'll be one of the top 2 in group a.

Uruguay!!!!!!!!!

Record: 12W-5L-2P [+7.785]

What a job they did in this group. They should match up well with the #2 team from Group B, whoever it winds up being. Don't overlook these boys as darkhorses to make the semis. Always nice to cash in a future.

[DJ RM]

Great call on Uruguay, I also cashed them to advance. Plus just nailed the only exacta bet I made pre-tourney:

Uruguay/Mexico to finish 1/2, +1500 . Small stakes but still satisfying.

Keep up the good work! Any thoughts on Argentina/Greece? I cannot see Greece hanging with Argentina, who will want to avoid Uruguay and go for the win. It's hard to see those players settling for a draw, they want to run up the score if they can. Argentina -1 -1 -116 looks tempting.

[EaglesPhan36]

Nice. I had to choose Uruguay to advance or I could have gone with them to win at +330 on the free play I had, decided for the safer option. Slightly favor the over in that Argentina-Greece match. Argentina's 2nd unit can still score + Messi is still playing and is the captain for this match. As for a side, Argentina would be my pick, but stranger things have happened when they only need a draw, still expect them to put on a show though.

[EaglesPhan36]

Record: 13W-5L-2P [+8.785]

The Ayatollah of Cashola has returned to my corner today.

[CatPulp]

Good one. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

[EaglesPhan36]

Play #23: USA +101
I did this write-up for the SBR blogosphere, explains my pick for Wednesday.

http://www.sbrforum.com/Betting+Articles/Sports/14546/world-cup-betting-preview-usa-favored-versus-algeria-first-win.aspx

Bob Bradley and Team USA have a very simple objective on Wednesday in Pretoria: Beat Algeria and advance to the knockout round of this year's World Cup. It is time for Team USA to put up or shut up as they battle Algeria at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.


Group C is wide open after Friday's topsy-turvy results found Slovenia sitting in first place with four points. England and Team USA are stuck in second position with two points. The USA does hold an advantage over England with three goals scored to England's one goal.




Algeria is running in fourth place with a single point, but still very much alive for advancement to the knockout stages.

With such a logjam in this group, there are of course several different scenarios on the final match day of the group stages. For Team USA though, there is a simple answer to the question of how they advance: Beat Algeria.


From a soccer betting standpoint, the USA is the favorite here at -105. Algeria is available to win at +288 and on the handicap at +0.5 at -112. The draw is available at +240. The total is set at 2.5, heavily favoring the 'under' right now at around -140.
The Algerians, for their part, come into this match riding high off their scoreless draw with England. The Algerians looked the stronger of the two sides for the most part. They were well organized defensively, but the Desert Foxes will need to find a finishing touch if they wish to pull off a miraculous advancement out of this group with a win.


Madjid Bougherra, the Rangers' defender, will again be charged with keeping the back line for the African side tight against the US. Watch for him to move forward when possible to add to the Algerian attack which is still searching for its first goal.


Team USA will be looking to start strong after falling behind to both England and Slovenia. The Americans have shown plenty of fortitude, battling back in both matches for draws. Still, that is not a good recipe for success.


Against Algeria, the Americans would seemingly have a better shot to start strong against a side struggling to find the back of the net. USA coach Bob Bradley has said again that his squad needs to be disciplined and finish with clinical effectiveness to win.


Team USA will be without striker Robbie Findley who picked up his second yellow card against Slovenia and will be suspended for this soccer match. Look for Jozy Altidore to star in the attack as he looked like he was finding his form against Slovenia and will be hungry for a goal. Landon Donovan, as always, will be a threat and full of confidence after his amazing goal kick started the USA comeback against Slovenia.


Although the Algerians have proven to be a tough nut to crack on defense, the USA seems to have found its offense and will enter here with plenty of confidence that if they score, they will win. I don't think the Americans will want the talk after this match to be about what could have been because of the disallowed goal against Slovenia.


Look for Team USA to get the job done, but don't be surprised if it takes them most of the match to do so.

[CatPulp]

I'm thinking USA 2 - Algeria 1.